"Lady Like"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

I was working on a grouping of "ladies in waiting" so to speak, for my show, and decided not to include this one after all.  Instead, I'm putting it on auction.

A sharply dressed woman waiting on a bench in the lobby of the Modern Wing in the Art Institute of Chicago.

"Sunroom"

5 x 7"

oil on panel
sold

A visitor resting in the sunlit passageway in the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Arkansas.

"Bench Test"

5 x 7"

oil on panel
sold

In the Art Institute of Chicago, in the New Modern Wing, visitors sit on long benches against a white wall.  I've said this before, it's one of my favorite spots to people watch.  Figures become forms against the stark background - I just love that.

From the Art Institute, a gentleman rests on the bench in the lobby of the New Modern Wing.

"Sit A Bit"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

From the Sculpture Gallery in the Art Institute of Chicago.

"Iron Side"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

A woman resting on a carved, wrought-iron bench in the Sculpture Gallery in the Art Institute of Chicago.

"Leftist"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold
 

The trick to actually getting a painting finished - a crock-pot.

Homemade split-pea and ham soup.  Yum.

From the landing in the Art Institute of Chicago, a woman takes a break on a bench.

"The Patriot"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

Adding to my series ATL to NYC & Back - it was Thursday, our first full day in the city, the rain had finally given way to a slightly sunny morning. We headed to where my workshop was to take place, around 89th & 5th, fueled up with breakfast, then walked to the Metropolitan Museum of Art - a goldmine of people-watching inside and outside. I spotted this sharp-dressed man in his red, white and blue, resting on a bench along the front of the museum.

"Raring To Go"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

Once I knew the date for my show in March, it's been full steam ahead - although you won't be seeing those pieces I've been working on for about a month. I hate that. I'm always anxious to get feedback. Hopefully ..... you won't be disappointed, come March.

I've had this little guy half finished for a couple of weeks, he sat close by and wondered why I abandoned him. It was the hands I gave up on, the hardest part of anatomy in my opinion. After working all morning and afternoon on another, I put him back on my easel. And it just worked. I love the whole thing. So he was not only patiently waiting on his wife, he was patiently waiting on me.

"Botanical Study"

5 x 7"
oil on masonite
sold

You probably know by now, I can't walk by a person on a bench without thinking of painting them. When I was a teenager, I spent hours sketching people on the train, the Amtrak lounge in Union Station - pretty much everywhere I'd go. I couldn't get enough. Good practice, I just didn't know it at the time.

From the National Botanical Gardens in Washington DC.

"Ballet Company"

5 x 7"
oil on masonite
sold

A dapper, young man taking a long look at Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's 'Ballet Dancers' - from inside the Art Institute of Chicago.

"Hat's Off"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

I am back home and picking up where I left off - enjoying these smaller, more-painterly pieces of bench sitters. I made it to my 30th high school reunion - a weekend I won't likely forget. It was incredible.

More new paintings to come - I'm back in the game.

"Back To Back"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

I painted one more for the road, (I think it's one of my personal favorites). My boyfriend saw a more have-and-have-not pair here, which is pretty interesting. So..... I'm heading back to Chicago for some inspiration and going to my 30th high school reunion to relive the disco days. Lots to do leading up to it all. I hope to see you back here around the 29th.

Taken from a bench in the Art Institute of Chicago, where weary patrons sit for a spell. Especially the husbands.


- Happy Trails

"A Sit Down"

5 x 7"
oil on masonite
sold


(detail)

A weary museum patron resting on a bench - perfect subject for figurative painting. I especially love the muted tones - the gray-purples, soft browns, touches of gold and pink and aquas from the cool light. It feels quiet.

"Been There, Done That"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

A young woman I spotted on a bench at the Art Institute of Chicago - resting after doing the Edward Hopper exhibit and even grabbing a souvenir at the gift shop.

(detail)

"Zen"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

Today was the first day back in my studio in over a week. I came from a chilly, crowded, noisy city - back to the warm, cozy, quiet sanctuary in my own backyard. Yay. It's good to be here. It's great to get busy again. It was also my last trip for a good while and I'm perfectly happy about that.

A few weeks ago, I was content staying home after traveling a good bit since February - then I realized I wouldn't - just couldn't - miss seeing the Hopper exhibit before it ended. So at the last minute I bolted to Chicago and I'm so glad I did it. I stood in front of paintings that I never experienced before - and felt as if I was meeting a celebrity in person. To face 'Early Sunday Morning' made my knees weak. The awe. The lessons. So much to learn from everything I saw. Mostly - it is the courage to put an unexpected color down and leave it. It's what gives a painting life. It's what we could see if we take the time to notice. It's how I want to paint for the rest of my days.

With that said, my painting today, as small as it is, has every color in the rainbow. Whether my brain made sense of it or not - like the lavender skin of the legs and the peachy reds of the skin on the shoulder. Paint what is there - not what you think is logical. I do that often, then I get too picky and representational - and I forget that magic. I'll stand before a Sargent or a Hopper and think I would have never thought of that color in that particular spot - but it makes it right. And I must remember that always when I'm the one with the brush in my hand.

This new piece wraps up my alphabet series, with the letter Z for Zen. A moment of Zen, something that we all need to seek out from time to time. Taken from the National Gallery of Art, in Washington DC.

"Sugar Cones"

8 x 10"

oil on masonite

sold

I painted this piece in the summer of '05 - a scene I got from a flea market in rural Georgia. I remember it was a hot, hot, summer day and that ice cream looked especially good. I've held on to this painting for a good while, perhaps because it's one of my personal favorites. I remember those decisive, bold brush strokes (and a minimal amount of them) seemed to come so easily that day I painted this - a pleasant experience for any artist.

"Unimpressed"

9 x 12"

oil on masonite

sold

I mostly love the young woman's form in this painting - the slumped over posture, the weight on her arm, the strands of hair falling forward. She is seemingly unimpressed with the painting before her, done by the modernist Marsden Hartley, titled "Madawaska-Acadian Light-Heavy", which hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago.

Please click here for a larger view.

A big thank-you to Anne B. for helping me identify the painting on the wall in front of the woman.

"Central Parking"

16 x 8"

oil on masonite

sold

It's a good thing this was a holiday weekend because this painting took me all weekend. Admittedly between the swimming and eating and sleeping late. I'm an impatient painter if you don't know that about me - I want to start and finish in the same day or night. If I go to bed with a piece half done, I think about it and rework it in my head all night. Drives me nuts. But this weekend was the perfect time to attempt such a painting and I'm totally thrilled with the finished product. Hope you all had a good time off and I'll be back in a couple of days, after I catch up on some work.

This new painting will be included in my July show at 16 Patton, in Asheville. The scene is from New York City, a crowded bench in Central Park in October.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Backpackin'"

6 x 6"

oil on masonite

sold

I mostly love the painterly, loose brushstrokes of this piece and how the wall behind the young woman on the bench cuts the view in half. There's interesting dimension from the bottom left to the top right, which makes for a good composition. This young lady was taking a load off inside the Legion of Honor Museum.

"A Snooze"

6 x 6"

oil on masonite

sold

After a short walk around Union Square, I grabbed a taxi to a museum I missed on my last visit to San Francisco - the Legion of Honor. It was a bit cloudy, so it was a good time to duck inside and see some art. This gentleman had already settled down on a bench for a nap - assumably given the task of watching his wife's coat.